The Last Film Seen

Re: The Last Film Seen

I got a couple online that I haven't watched yet, but mainly looking for Miss Oyu right now which I know is available overseas on DVD I just haven't gotten it yet.

Last night we got reacquainted with an old friend and watched Rambo. Unlike many other action movies of the 80's I really didn't grow up with Rambo and had no recollection of any of the original three movies. For reasons that don't need explaining we decided to start from the end last night and watch part 4. Not a bad choice the film required no knowledge of the original three and had next to no plot to speak of. However that said it was $@$%#$* amazing, just killing and cartoon violence of the type that hasn't been seen in American cinema in awhile. The film was barely a blip on the radar when it came out this year (actually had a lower opening weekend than Meet the Spartans) but the film delivers in unrealistic carnage and is more than enough to satisfy most general fans. Now I can't wait to revisit the original trilogy.

Re: The Last Film Seen

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 3:57 am

by arsaib4

Great Pialat news: L'Enfance nue / Naked Childhood (2-disc set) is scheduled for September by Eureka/MoC.

Re: The Last Film Seen

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 4:27 pm

by wpqx

Outstanding indeed, this is by far the Pialat film at the top of my wishlist.

I haven't been keeping as great tabs on what I've watched lately, but I got a chance to see a rather crappy quality bootleg of Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, which was excellent, Nouvelle Vague (1990) which although a DVD burn didn't seem like it was in the right aspect ratio because everything looked stretched, but you can never tell if that's just Godard being Godard, and another Godard with Comment Ca Va which didn't captivate me quite the same way as Numero Deux but was at least equal to Ict et Alleurs.

Re: The Last Film Seen

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 4:49 am

by wpqx

Tonight was the first of hopefully many Grindhouse Fridays. We got the ball rolling with the film Kung Fu Zombie (1982) which is exactly what was advertised, although periodically the zombie turned into a vampire, day and night seemed quite interchangeable, and any excuse for shirtless kung fu fighters to be drenched in water. The film's plot is almost impossible to decipher if you're looking to continuity. Lots and lots and even more jump cuts, fast forwards, trick photography and horrible makeup but something about it made the film fun. Through it all was a tongue in cheek sense of humor that made you feel that the filmmakers were also laughing at their product. I wonder if there was more planned for the film because there were several potential plot threads that seemed completely unrelated and underdeveloped. Still when watching *%%+ you can't expect greatness.

Re: The Last Film Seen

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 5:37 am

by arsaib4

Paranoid Park (U.S.-Fra/2007) - A (3rd viewing)

Tilaï (Burkina Faso-Fra-U.K.-Ger-Swi/1990) - C+

Street Kings (U.S./2008) - F

Re: The Last Film Seen

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 6:14 am

by wpqx

Wow an F? Sounds terrible. I still am yet to see Paranoid Park, but hopefully that'll change soon.

I watched Zombie Defense Army (2005) which as far as I can tell was my first Japanese zombie film. The film begins with an anti-American tirade about war attrocities and the current Iraq situation then we go to the low budget horror films favorite locale, the woods. A poorly animated UFO crash lands and releases a gas that sure as **@# causes the dead to come back to life. It just so happens that there's a random woman hung from a tree and someone who crossed a yakuza getting shot right before this mysterious green gas is unleashed. They become the first zombies then a bunch of random people start rising from piles of dead leaves. So quickly a blonde yakuza with a mullet, a very spoiled model/pop star, and a military patrol survive and band together to fight everyone. Nearly everyone dies, a four month old fetus jumps out of it's dead zombie mother and it is nearly impossible to definitively kill any of these zombies. The continuity is all over the place, many of the effects are horribly bad, and the story is laughable at best. As far as gory retarded entertainment this will deliver, but in terms of making its mark on the lexicon of zombie lore this film is far from a classic. There is a way of tying things together and despite some choppy moments everything does seem to eventually come together and even when you feel like certain characters or subplots were forgotten about, they come back around again.

Re: The Last Film Seen

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:46 pm

by arsaib4

I passed on Street Kings once and that should've been it. It's been a while since I've seen anything this offensive. Director David Ayer previously did a much better job writing wholly superior L.A.-set crime dramas such as Dark Blue and Training Day.

While I haven't watched it myself yet, I've heard some good things about Satô Sakichi's Tokyo Zombie (2005) -- though it doesn't quite seem like the kind you prefer.

Paranoid Park exudes poetry with every breath. I've seen it twice since I first caught it at TIFF '07 and it has gotten better on each occasion.

Re: The Last Film Seen

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 11:41 pm

by wpqx

I'm still curious to see it. Now in the newest installment of disappointing new films comes Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg which fails to captivate and comes across slow and amateurish. There are flashes of genius and a few laughs to be had but the film just lazily meanders and never really seems to wake from it's perpetual somnambulism. Much of the autobiographical story is fictional and I'm not sure if Maddin assumed it would make for better cinema. Although I very much like Maddin's general style other than Saddest Music in the World none of his features have really done much for me. Admittedly I still have a few more to see.

Re: The Last Film Seen

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 4:35 am

by arsaib4

I'm looking forward to watching Maddin's previous feature, Brand upon the Brain! , which, as you know, is coming out soon from Criterion Collection.

Re: The Last Film Seen

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 11:41 am

by wpqx

I missed it in the theater so I too am looking forward to the Criterion release.